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by RosieGHM Jetpacker on November 8th, 2011

RosieGHM Jetpacker

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How important is gravity to the formation of the universe? Before the Big Bang, what existed? Anything?

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Answers. 13 helpful answers below.

  • by Im Alec has abandoned this account on November 8th, 2011

    Im Alec has abandoned this account

    Asker's Pick

    Selected by the asker, RosieGHM Jetpacker. (What's this?)

    Gravity is crucial to the universe as we know it. On a large scale, the universe is entirely formed by the expansionary force that caused the Big Bang and seems, under the name of Dark Energy, still to be tearing it apart, and Gravity which is trying to squeeze it together. On the "small" scale - mere galaxies - Gravity is winning. On the large scale, Dark Energy is winning.

    We have no idea what came before the Big Bang. In fact, we don't really know what happened before 10^-35 seconds after the Big Bang probably happened. This total lack of evidence does not, of course, stop cosmologists theorising. And indeed, they have to, if they are to devise experiments by which we might learn about things before this horizon - they are just doing their job. But every now and again, a newspaper will misunderstand a cosmologist and interpret "my guess as to what might have happened" as "what happened". It is startling that we can trace history, to some level, that far back. But futher we cannot go - yet. (But watch this space).

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  • by Crowsnest on November 8th, 2011

    Crowsnest

    Asker's Pick

    Selected by the asker, RosieGHM Jetpacker. (What's this?)

    Well. I'll try to explain how I see it, and please, dont take me as an atheist, Im not.

    At the BEGINNING, there was, exactly what the word says, nothing else than the beggining.
    Here beggining means the starting of time and space.
    Time is not an infinite thing. It does not infitely extend to the past, and we dont know if it does or not to the future.
    As it is not infinitely extended to the past, it had to have a starting point. That point was the Big Bang.
    May be surprisingly for you, but the time elapsed from that "starting" of all, can be computed with a high accuracy.

    Then, What was before?
    What means before? Doesn't it mean "an preceding instant of time" to a given one ?
    BUT.
    If time started at a given instant ... How could be a previus one?

    The answer is that there was NOT any previous time. There was nothing, the "philosophical" nothing and not the absence of anything.

    The concept of time, itself, and all related terms (Before, after, previus, preced, late, early .........hour, second .....) are linked in our Universe. They have no sence out of it. Hence there is no sence in applying the concept of "Before" when there exists no time.

    AFTER the big bang, a few phases were crossed by our Universe before Gravity took effect. At the beggining, there was only radiation. Matter was born later, and just at the moment when the first matter was born, Gravity was born as well.
    Becouse Gravity is a property of Mass in our Universe. Or taken in the extrict sence, is a Property of our Universe linked to mass.

    Now we have a very young Universe, where Time, mass and gravity have just been born. The game can start.

    The simplest atom, is Hydrogen, composed only by one proton and one electron. The whole Universe was only composed of this simple brick. By the way it is still, by far, the most plentiful element.

    The Universe had a long time, ALL the time. As time passes, GRAVITY started to agregate Hydrogen atoms from that primitive cloud. Their own mass, made them "feel" attracted by the close ones, starting to form more dense hydrogen balls.

    Lets have a closer look to one of those balls.
    We have an hydrogen ball, that "feels" attracted by itself. Then its own, lets say, weight, started to crush the ball to its center. The more compressed it was the higher its temperature, until a critical level was achieved.

    The Hydrogen atoms, smashed and pressed togheder, and heated by that incredible pressure, started to react by fusing one with each other.
    The core of this ball is so hot, and the amount of hydrogen so big, that the energy started to be radiated out of the ball. As the Hydrogen atoms fuse, new atoms are created, mainly Hellium. The weight of the ball is so big, as well, that the uncontable nuclear explosions inside it, are not able to expand the sphere.
    After a time, a balance between the expanding forces of the explosions, and the contracting forces of gravity is achieved. A Star as been born.

    The same took place a millions of millions of millions of places all around the young Universe.

    Thats the way, things started.

    If you want me to explain more .... just ask again. I think this post is long enough.

    Best regards

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  • by C_Anglin on November 8th, 2011

    C_Anglin

    Asker's Pick

    Selected by the asker, RosieGHM Jetpacker. (What's this?)

    O WOW... assuming that our universe is the 3D universe that exists as local reality, gravity had a lot to do with our existance. Thats elementary physics. In the string/quantum theory of the universe we could be just one of many universes and our 3D dimensional uninverse just 1 of a least 11 diminsions that are cutting edge physics today. So that gravity was/is important across 8 diminsions that we have never even seen. Now applying gravity to muliti unverses...If my interputation of the latest multiverse theory is correct, gravity is the only known force to you and I that transcends all universes. No known force can escape our universe except gravity according to Brian Greenes thoughts written in the book "the hidden reality" and three other books that prefaced these two. So staying with the questioner, gravity is the one most important forces of all origination theorys.

    Before the big bang there was nothing in this universe. There was no big bang that took place in any space that we can possibley envision...Space it self was created at that time and the expansion we see is not matter flying away from it self but it is matter that is moving because space is expanding (Visualise a balloon with spots al over it. When the balloon expands the dots just expand with it because they have to) Try wrapping your hands around the edge of space that is expanding into what? Since space is being created as it expands ( What the hell is it expanding into) My question for Greene and Hawking.

    These theorys depend on the presense of something before the big bang or all the other big bangs if the multiverse theories are correct. All of the pundits I have read agree that with the level of our present abilities we will never know what was before the BB.

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  • by surfbiker on November 8th, 2011

    surfbiker

    Thats to deep for me Rosie, But I'd give my left nut to be able to ask Steven hawkin about that!!! (Well, maybe not my nut).

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  • by Anonymous on November 8th, 2011

    Anonymous

    "How important is gravity to the formation of the universe?"
    i don't know. probably really important.

    "Before the Big Bang, what existed?"
    the universe.

    nothing comes from nothing. not the universe and not god either.

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  • by bostjan64 on November 8th, 2011

    bostjan64

    Nothing that existed prior to the big bang is still around in any way that today's science can detect.

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  • by C_Anglin on November 8th, 2011

    C_Anglin

    To heck with Hawking. Anyone who answers the orignal origination question can have my soul1

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  • by celtic on November 8th, 2011

    celtic

    how could there be gravity without any since of laws of physics? there was nothing but an empty void, nothing existed. It is impossible for a universe to create "itself" from nothing! its impossible for anything including life to create itself from nothing. So where did that something come from? "In the beggining, God created the heavens and the earth". Even my 4 yr old said to me "life cant create itself" when explaining to her what some people believe. wow...to think she has more since than most so called intelligent scientists!

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  • by canoeguide on December 4th, 2011

    canoeguide

    A: It's one of the basic aspects of the cosmos.
    B: We don't know and have no sure means of finding out.
    C: See B.

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  • by kaetalist on December 4th, 2011

    kaetalist

    Part 1 of the question is the universe wouldn't exist without gravity.

    Part 2 of the question is in my profile Rosie.

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  • by Amazing Nate Supports Leonard Peltier on November 8th, 2011

    Amazing Nate Supports Leonard Peltier

    Can't agree with Big Bang, seeing as I believe in God. So creation is my only explanation. God always existed.

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  • by Amritasya_Putra on November 10th, 2011

    Amritasya_Putra

    "Before Big Bang!!!!" What time are U taking about?
    I call this the perpetual B3 paradox.

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  • by skep on November 10th, 2011

    skep

    Before the Big Bang was only Starbucks.

    Otherwise, we do not know anything before the Big Bang which was neither big nor was there a bang.

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